Home Improvement DIY: How to Lay Vinyl Tiles

Yes you can do it!

I have seen the self adhesive flooring on the design shows. they make it look so easy. But since it is TV I really thought it could not be that easy. But when I saw the price of the materials I decided it was worth a shot.

The room that I wanted to tackle first was the bathroom. Here is the horrible linoleum that was there. It was coming up on the sides and raised and bubbled in others. It was also faded and gross looking.

So I started demolition. It was really very easy to pull up since the sides were already coming up. For the areas around the base boards I used my utility knife to make clean cuts.

I found a very bad floor under neath. It was moldy! So I had to take a break here and treat it and let it dry. I did not want to let the mold stick around. After about 24 hours I start scraping up what was left of the floor. A lot of the adhesive was left behind as well as parts of the floor. I used a scraper to get it all up. This was time consuming but needed to be done.

While that was happening I measured the floor to calculate how much material I would need.

Once I had the floor ready for the new floor I tried out the tiles I liked. I picked out a few from Lowes to compare. It is so hard to tell in the store what they will look like in your home lighting. I suggest doing this for any project. You can get individual tiles from $.20 on up so it is worth it. I laid them out and compared. I called in my handy helpers for their opinions. Some had texture and some were smooth so we stood on them as well.

We decided on a cute bluish, grayish stone looking tile. I headed back to Lowes and was excited to see that a pack was about $20. I had measured before I left and that was enough to do the bathroom. YEAH!

Now for the fun part. I laid out the tiles in the design I wanted. Some times are all the same but these had a design I wanted to play with. It looked like this box would be enough.

Each tile has a sticky backing and you peel off the pack to expose the sticky. Now this is VERY sticky so be sure you have your placement all ready! I started at one corner. The instructions say to measure, use chalk and start in the middle. But this bathroom is so small that I decided to start with the side that was most visible. Be careful around the baseboard and if you need to pull up the baseboards. I was able to slide mine under without removing anything.

From here it was just lining them up and sticking down. Press down haard as you go.

I left the hardest part for last. All the edges and strange shapes. I started cutting with the utility knife. It was very easy! Just score with the knife and then it comes right apart with a click.

Keep all the pieces you cut because they will likely fit another area. This tile was a little challenging because I am a perfectionist and wanted the colors and lines to match up perfectly. If you go with a uniform tile that would not be an issue.

The area around the toilet was the hardest and took a lot of measuring and precision. But I still could do it myself!

TAH-DAH!

What do you think? I love it! It was easy enough to do in 2 days from start to finish! I am wanting to put different tiles in other rooms now! A whole new look and feel for only $20 and some hard work.

I am Heather Brummett . I'm just a real mom, sharing my real life experiences with the world. Thank you for being a part of my world. Here you will find recipes, crafts, fun ideas for the kids, how to work at home, encouragement, inspiration, and the latest news in and around Houston. To be featured or for information on freelance work contact me at inspiringmommablog@gmail.com.

About Me

I am Heather Brummett. I'm a just a real mom, sharing my real life experiences with the world. Thank you for being a part of my world. Here you will find recipes, crafts, fun ideas for the kids, how to work at home, encouragement, inspiration, and the latest news in and around Houston. To be featured or for information on freelance work contact me at inspiringmommablog@gmail.com.